THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has listed former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Enugu State, despite a certificate forgery controversy that preceded his resignation from President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet.
Similarly, the commission’s final lists of candidates for the February 6, 2027, governorship elections omitted PDP candidates Oladipupo Adebutu in Ogun State and former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, a professor, in Gombe State.
The omissions leave the PDP without a listed governorship candidate in the two states, according to the final lists published on INEC’s website on Saturday and signed by the commission’s Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony.
The lists contain 13 governorship candidates in Ogun and 16 in Gombe, with neither state featuring a PDP candidate with the qualifications submitted by candidates
INEC’s published documents do not explain why Adebutu and Pantami were excluded.
The ICIR’s review of INEC’s official lists of governorship candidates in Ogun, Gombe and Enugu shows that Nnaji is listed as the PDP candidate in Enugu, while the party has no candidate listed in either Ogun or Gombe.
Nnaji’s inclusion comes months after he resigned as minister in October 2025 following an investigation by Premium Times that found discrepancies in the academic and National Youth Service Corps certificates he submitted during his ministerial screening.
The newspaper reported that the former minister’s degree and NYSC certificates were forged. Nnaji, however, said his resignation was not an admission of guilt.
In March 2026, a Federal Government investigative panel reportedly found that Nnaji had forged his University of Nigeria, Nsukka degree certificate, according to a Premium Times report.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission announced that Nnaji had been arrested on July 1, 2026, following a court order, for investigation into allegations concerning his academic credentials and NYSC discharge certificate.
The ICPC statement said the investigation concerned his University of Nigeria degree certificate and the NYSC discharge certificate submitted during his 2023 ministerial screening.
INEC’s final Enugu governorship list identifies Nnaji as the PDP candidate with West African Examinations Council qualification.
In Ogun State, Adebutu’s had faced challenges over his membership status in the PDP and allegations that his name was missing from the membership register submitted to INEC.
Some groups had challenged his eligibility on that basis.
However, the Ogun PDP rejected the allegations, insisting that Adebutu was a registered party member and that the party had complied with the legal requirements governing membership registration and submission of its register to the electoral commission.
The commission’s final list does not include Adebutu or his running mate.
Media reports linked the exclusions to the legal requirements governing party membership registers and candidate nomination procedures.
The report said the exclusions followed a Supreme Court judgment restoring provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 restricting participation in party primaries to members whose names appear on membership registers submitted to INEC within the statutory period.
However, INEC has yet to provide a specific explanation in the published Ogun list for Adebutu’s exclusion.
In Gombe State, Pantami’s had a legal dispute over the PDP primary that initially produced him as its governorship candidate.
The Federal High Court in Gombe, on September 24, 2026, nullified his emergence and ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh primary within 30 days after finding that the earlier process did not comply with the party’s procedures and applicable electoral laws.
Pantami had emerged as the party’s candidate through a primary held on May 26, a process challenged by other aspirants, including Usman Aliyu Garry.
The PDP subsequently conducted a rerun primary on September 29, which Pantami won against Khamisu Mailantarki and Usman Aliyu Garry.
The rerun followed the court’s directive. However, Pantami’s name does not appear in INEC’s final Gombe governorship list.
The list does not state why Pantami and the PDP ticket were omitted.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.